To be replaced with what? This will be the SECOND time they've demolished those steps - the first time was when they were building the Galleries back in the mid-90s, and they were putting the west section of the mall in underneath them.

The steps are to be demolished as part of the expansion of the Buchanan Galleries.

This includes: Demolishing the steps, replacing with a tall glass drum type entrance, with scenic lifts to the Sauchiehall St side. Internally there is vertical circulation to access the upper levels of extended mall

Demolishing the existing carpark that stretches along North Hanover Street and replacing with a cinema, large M&S etc

Rebuilding a new car park in the current Queen St station vacant site (where the steamers queue for taxis on a saturday night) which will be 10 storeys tall, with a blank ramp facade facing George Square above the millennium hotel. A link bridge will be made to take shoppers from the car park to the new shopping replacing the existing car park.

The gap between the card shop and the Forbidden Planet building, currently occupied by the tourist info place, will be infilled with new retail, which will run through to Dundas street also (if i remember correctly)

There will also be connections to the upgraded Queen Street station, in the form of an escalator and shops.

It adds up to a pretty horrific overscaled proposal IMO and should rightly be objected to on several grounds.

Bingo Bango wrote:It adds up to a pretty horrific overscaled proposal IMO and should rightly be objected to on several grounds.

A bit like the Galleries was originally back in the early 90s when it was first proposed. I still think it is just one big nondescript, unimaginative hulk of a building - unlike the St Enoch Centre, which was quite novel in its day, but has since been bastardised and lost most of its late '80s character by all the alterations and add-on bits over the years.

On balance though there isn't a lot here we didn't know already apart from a few details such as the cylindrical entrance/restaurant where the steps are for example. That is going to change the vista looking up Buchanan Street quite radically - I thought that the facade to the Concert Hall would be a difficult thing to get permission to change, despite it's only been standing for 24 years.

The concept of these giant megastructures seems to be very much back in vogue.

The problem I have with the scheme is that, come 6 oclock, some heavies (no offence Doorstop!) can saunter over and effectively close off a large portion of the very centre of the city. They talk of public space and interaction in all the design statements and concept imagery etc, but when it comes down to it, this is just a large shop.

Before we even get to discussing the design aesthetics, just take a minute to consider the scale of the thing! 10 storeys of car park mass, immediately behind the Hotel to George Square. Does anyone recall the uproar when Reiach + Hall proposed a tall building as part of the development of George House next door? It was considered totally out of order to be putting something like that so close to the square, it was said. Even though it was a considered approach to a well scaled building. This proposes the ramp section of the car park as the only feature here. And we all know just how much money is not thrown at car parks to get them treated with decent materials.

Exactly BB, add privatisation of public space to the mix, the desertification of surrounding streets, and the highly dubious method of funding this monstrosity, make me wonder how we can let it happen.

Bingo Bango wrote:The problem I have with the scheme is that, come 6 oclock, some heavies (no offence Doorstop!) can saunter over and effectively close off a large portion of the very centre of the city. They talk of public space and interaction in all the design statements and concept imagery etc, but when it comes down to it, this is just a large shop.

However, if GCC want it to happen, which they do - they (this applies to local authorities in general, really) - have shown plenty of times in the past they are capable of steamrollering it through any public opposition - David and Goliath all over again I'm afraid.....if history is any teacher.

The proposed car park isn't any uglier than the current one, just that it will be a block further down North Hanover Street.....you could argue that the Building and Printing College (even though it is now listed) is an ugly structure as well which looms over George Square. But because its been there since 1965 we accept it. This is when it all gets rather subjective.

So criticizing it on architectural merit alone isn't going to wash with any planning inquiry really, if the goal of the thing is further regeneration. Whatever the failings of the current Galleries and Concert Hall as pieces of architecture, you can't deny their presence hasn't transformed the top end of Buchanan Street which was a run-down, dank and dingy place where no-one wanted to go. When it was empty and the old NAAFI building was there, it had the same feel that the ex-Goldbergs site has today.

PS - hope they are fixing the crumbling Cathedral St bridge whilst they are at it!